The Vorticism group began with the Rebel Art Centre which Wyndham Lewis and others established after disagreeing with Omega Workshops founder Roger Fry, and has roots in the Bloomsbury Group, Cubism, and Futurism. Lewis himself saw Vorticism as an independent alternative to Cubism, Futurism and Expressionism.
Though the style grew out of Cubism, it is more closely related to Futurism in its embrace of dynamism, the machine age and all things modern (cf. Cubo-Futurism). However, Vorticism diverged from Futurism in the way it tried to capture movement in an image. In a Vorticist painting modern life is shown as an array of bold lines and harsh colours drawing the viewer's eye into the centre of the canvas.
The name Vorticism was given to the movement by Ezra Pound in 1913, although Lewis, usually seen as the central figure in the movement, had been producing paintings in the same style for a year or so previously. The Vorticists held only one exhibition, in 1915 at the Doré Gallery, in London.[4] The main section of the exhibition included work by Jessica Dismorr, Frederick Etchells, Lewis, Gaudier-Brzeska, William Roberts, Helen Saunders and Edward Wadsworth. There was a smaller section area titled ‘Those Invited To Show’ that included several other artists. Jacob Epstein was notably not represented, although did have his drawings reproduced in 'Blast!'.
After this, the movement broke up, largely due to the onset of World War I and public apathy towards the work. Gaudier-Brzeska was killed in military service, while leading figures such as Epstein distanced themselves stylistically from Lewis. A brief attempt by Lewis to revive the movement in 1920 under the name Group X proved unsuccessful.[5] Pound, however, through his correspondence with Lewis, was understood to hold a commitment to the goals of the movement as much as forty years after its demise.
While Lewis is generally seen as the central figure in the movement, it has been suggested that this was more due to his contacts and ability as a self-publicist and polemicist than the quality of his works. A 1956 exhibition at the Tate Gallery was called Wyndham Lewis and Vorticism, highlighting his prominent place in the movement. This angered other members of the group. Bomberg and Roberts (who published a series of "Vortex Pamphlets" on the matter) both protested strongly the assertion of Lewis, which was printed in the exhibition catalogue: "Vorticism, in fact, was what I, personally, did, and said, at a certain period." The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University held an exhibition entitled The Vorticists: Rebel Artists in London and New York, 1914-18 from September 30, 2010 through January 2, 2011.
List of Political Manifestos
- 1890 Manifesto
- A Christian Manifesto
- A Cyborg Manifesto
- Amasya Circular
- Anarchist Manifesto
- Anti-Capitalism Manifesto
- Cannibal Manifesto
- Capitalist Manifesto
- Communist Manifesto
- Construction of Situations
- Declaration of Sentiments
- Euston Manifesto
- Fascist manifesto
- Hedonistic Imperative
- Humanist Manifesto
- Libertarian Manifesto
- Life on Earth
- Liminar Manifesto
- Manifesto against conscription and the military system
- Manifesto of the 121
- Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals
- Manifesto of the Sixteen
- manifesto of the Southern Agrarians
- Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam
- New Libertarian Manifesto
- No One Is Illegal Manifesto
- Objectives Resolution of Pakistan
- October Manifesto
- Oxford Manifesto
- PKWN manifesto
- Port Huron Statement
- Regina Manifesto
- Russell-Einstein Manifesto
- SCUM Manifesto
- Second Manifesto
- Sharon Statement
- Southern Manifesto
- Tamworth Manifesto
- The Contract with America
- Unabomber's Manifesto
- Urmia Manifesto
The Vorticist Manifesto, by Wyndham Lewis